Hellter interviews Michael Nardelli (Dark Web)!!
Hello Grue-Lings,
Today we have a great guest for all you Grue-Lings. Michael Nardelli from Dark Web.
Michael made his professional acting debut as Stradivarius Helberg on the television show ‘Quintuplets’. He then co-starred in the independent film “Derby Stallion” opposite Zac Efron and the comedy “Grassroots”, with Jason Biggs. Soon after, Michael portrayed a lovesick teenager in the 3D horror thriller “The Collection” and has recurred on various television shows including “American Crime Story: The People Vs. OJ Simpson”, “Revenge”, “CSI: New York”, and “Nashville”. His additional credits include starring in the Netflix psychological-thriller “Circle”, “The Tribe” and Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas In Homestead”.
Beyond acting, Michael has established himself as a producer and director. His film, “Another Happy Day”, wherein he also acted opposite Ezra Miller, Kate Bosworth and Demi Moore. Additional films include “The Giant Mechanical Man” with Jenna Fisher and “Dennis Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”.
Michael is a self proclaimed Sci Fi, Comic Book and gamer nerd. When he is not working, he loves to be involved with the PATH Organization, Autism Speaks, the Boys and Girls Club of Boyle Heights and NCJW LA. Michael received his Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Theater from USC.
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Dark/Web” is about the evolution of the internet which has given way to a world in crisis; one where everyone’s connected and no one is safe. Molly Solis (Noemi Gonzalez), a cyber securities analyst, understood these dangers better than anyone and was determined to find a way to keep people protected… until she vanished without a trace. Now, friends and foes from her past are in a race against time to decipher cryptic messages she’s left behind; tales that paint a grim picture of technology run amok. As the mystery deepens, they will discover the stories, and Molly herself, may be concealing information that could change the world, or destroy it.
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“DARK/WEB” is comprised of eight anthology segments, each dealing with different dangers of the tech age, connected by a serialized narrative uncovering the mystery behind Molly’s disappearance. In addition to Michael, the series stars Zelda Williams, Clare Kramer, Julie Benz, Nicholas Brendan and more. Produced by FELT FILMS, the series screened at the 2019 SCAD aTVfest and was released on July 19, 2019 on Amazon Prime. Here is our interview with the amazing Michael Nardelli:
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HELLTER: Hello Michael and welcome to Gruemonkey. We are happy to have you as a guest today. Can you tell us how everything came about, how you got involved with Dark/Web?
MICHAEL: Thank you for having me!!! DARK/WEB started with an idea we had about doing an anthology show that was different from the rest. One that had a storyline, a character specifically, that could connect all the disparate anthology segments. I reunited with the team from our Netflix film CIRCLE – Mario Miscione and my brother Tim Nardelli. Together we brainstormed thousands of ideas of how to put the different concepts and structures together. We decided the real life dark web would be the device tying everything together in this series. There’s so many stories generating from it each day and we’re actually all a part of it in real life, whether we know it or like it or not.
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HELLTER: Can you tell us what Dark/Web series is about and who your character is? And didn’t you direct a episode as well?
MICHAEL: DARK/WEB deals with a group of old high school friends who are united later in life when one of their own, Molly, goes missing. She sends them each an ominous story and as they dive further into the details of her disappearance, they realize there’s clues in each story about what happened to her. Molly was involved in a lot more issues relating to national security and cyber security than anyone realized.
I play James. He was a big “change the world” peace corps kind of guy who is now landlocked back in his home town teaching bratty phone-obsessed kids at his old grade school. The realities have sort of set in, he thinks, for what his place in the world will be in this tech age. Of course, he gets a call to adventure thanks to Molly that will force him to change and take some risks. See things from a new perspective.
And yes! I did direct a segment called “VIRAL”. It’s a metaphor for anxiety and cyber bullying. A college student contracts a virus from a one-night stand. As people start taunting and shaming her on social media, her symptoms get worse.
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HELLTER: You also wrote a lot of Dark/Web too. Tell us about writing the series?
MICHAEL: Writing DARK/WEB was a ton of fun. Even though it’s this tech, sci-fi, thriller sort of story – it’s actually quite personal. My feeling is the only thing you can do perfectly or be original with is your point of view or feelings on a topic. Mario, Tim and I talked a lot about how technology, the internet, social media, etc. have changed or affected us. We’re the generation that grew up in an analogue world, and now live in a world that is so digital-based. That was our perspective for the show, and it influenced everything. The internet has changed the way people fight, fall in love, win elections. It’s major. Other shows have talked about these things, but we were never trying to compete with classics like TWILIGHT ZONE or BLACK MIRROR. I think people will see DARK/WEB is pretty different from those. It’s pretty emotional.
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HELLTER: What was your favorite scene or favorite moment from Dark/Web?
MICHAEL: I have a fun scene with Lana McKissack who plays Sam. We’re basically talking about how the world has become too internet or phone obsessed. Meanwhile, we’re glued to our phone’s half listening to each other throughout the entire scene. I think it’s pretty relatable. We’re all a bit guilty of split attention these days with so much bombardment coming in from our cell phones. I think most people are aware they’re tech addicts, but onward they go! I also think all of the score across DARK/WEB is really beautiful and haunting. We had four different composers and they all brought something fresh and different. I’m a big fan of film score, so it’s a source of pride we got such great cues on this.
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HELLTER: Any cool or funny stories you can share with us that happened behind the scenes while on set?
MICHAEL: Well, we drove director Roxy Shih absolutely nuts either singing or humming George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” for the whole shoot. And after. It was like a virus. I think I started humming it and by the end of the day I’d hear it popping up across the set out of other people’s mouths. By the end of the shoot – it was our anthem, much to many people’s chagrin.
Another cool thing was – when we shot “Rideshare” – a segment directed by Boman Modine. We had to put a car on top of a process trailer to get all the driving shots. We had police escorts in downtown Los Angeles in the middle of the night. It was the only time I felt powerful on the streets of LA which are notoriously gridlocked and full of traffic. That was the one shoot that kind of felt like we were this big Hollywood production – which we certainly were not.
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HELLTER: For your film Another Happy Day. How was it like to work with Ezra Miller?
MICHAEL: I got to hangout and know Ezra and he is such a super nice funny down to earth guy. I can imagine what a pleasure he is to work with on film. Ezra was always super cool and fun to hang out with. He played a darker character in that, but he was always pretty funny and laid back when I was around him – got along with everyone. He’s really a true artist, I admire him!
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HELLTER: I read online that you are a big Sci-Fi, Comic Book and Gaming nerd. Me too. Tell me what are some of your current comic books and video games you are into right now?
MICHAEL: I’m reading SAGA by Brian K Vaughn and I love it. Y THE LAST MAN is one of my favorite pieces of literature. I Just read FROM HELL by Alan Moore. That was an event! So, so brilliant. As for gaming, playing a bit of the new Super Smash Bros since I grew up on it. I play a mean game of Smash as Yoshi. I’m actually on the hunt for a really good game to get totally lost in once the DARK/WEB stuff calms down. I’m open to suggestions!
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HELLTER: What is your favorite Sci-Fi tv show and movie of all time?
MICHAEL: This is so so so hard. I can’t name just one. I’ll try to keep it to three each. Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Twin Peaks for TV. For film, Alien, 2001 and then I’ll throw a new one in just because I’ve been in a matrix-y mood lately and say The Matrix.
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HELLTER: You play Josh in the horror movie The Collection. That film is very intense. How would you survive if you were ever in a situation like that with a maniac like The Collector?
MICHAEL: Gosh I hate to say it, but I don’t think I would survive! (LAUGHS)! I obviously didn’t survive long in that movie. Oh well, at least dear Josh got to go out in a blaze of glory. He was partying, came out of his shell, finally got a girl and then—SPLAT! Poor thing!
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HELLTER: How did you prepare for such a Psychological role as Ryan from the thriller film The Tribe?
MICHAEL: I loved the role of Ryan – and it was where I first met DARK/WEB director Roxy Shih! For Ryan, I actually researched a lot of cults – since it seemed like the group of survivalists, he was in had that kind of thought-reform, do-as-I-say kind of mentality. It was fascinating. I watched a lot of post-apocalyptic movies as well. One very strange one called A BOY AND HIS DOG. I read Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD. And then, Ryan was very influenced by Anthony Perkins in PSYCHO. Someone who seemed harmless, and was very vulnerable, but also quite dangerous.
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HELLTER: In a film like Circle, where there is so much death and sadness, What do you do to leave that mindset behind after production for a film like Circle?
MICHAEL: Everyone was so wiped by the end of CIRCLE. It was filmed sequentially, and the stakes were so high almost every two minutes of the film, and we were standing in place all day – which doesn’t sound that bad, but trust me, it wears on you. I think I mostly just slept when I wasn’t working and did have a big crash by the time we were done. Luckily though, everyone was so great to work with on that film and the days, even though frenzied, felt like we were one big theater company putting up a show!
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HELLTER: What do you like best about directing and about acting?
MICHAEL: For directing, I like the feeling of total creative expression. You really have all your creative and artistic antennae out at once looking for inspiration. You’re watching the actors, you’re watching the composition of the shots, you’re listening to everything. It’s like this big buffet of art and choices and then a mistake happens, or a line is said wrong and you’re like – wait, no, that’s even better! We keep that!
What I love about acting is when you get into a freefall, and lose sense of yourself, and you’re just totally in the moment responding to another actor or circumstance like you’re a different person. I love to get to explore other lives or choices I haven’t been able to do in my own life. I also like how exploring characters makes me step outside myself and reflect on things choices I’ve made in my own life, good or bad.
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HELLTER: Tell us about some of the organizations you work with and help out?
MICHAEL: I do a lot of work with PATH in LA to the homeless. Donations and things like that, of course, but I also – every few months – try to organize a Welcome Home Package with them. Which is basically helping a family get off the streets and move into a brand-new home or apartment, fully furnished and livable. PATH finds the home, and we accumulate all the furniture, electronics, toiletries, etc. All the things that give a new home dignity so that a struggling family really has a fresh start and can be excited about their new home and new life. I also raise money each year for the Autism Walk in LA. Our group is one of the top earners each year. And I’m always supporting animal rights and safety, specifically through ASCAP. My dogs are absolutely my best friends.
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HELLTER: Anything else you would like to discuss or promote?
MICHAEL: I hope people will give DARK/WEB a look. A lot of really creative people gave it their heart and soul for years. It was an independent labor of love that really took a village to get made. I think as a lifelong fan all things film and TV we’re at a dangerous point where making something that strives to be original, with new voices, is becoming nearly impossible. I’m sure DARK/WEB has its imperfections, but it was made with the best of intentions from a lot of really admirable artists (myself not includedJ) to entertain, scare you some, and hopefully make you think a little too. I hope you enjoy it and thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me!
Thank you for your time.
All my best. xM
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BOTH PHOTOS ARE FROM RYAN WEST!
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